Madagascar’s Climate-Driven Famine: When Hunger Meets Environmental Crisis

Examining how climate change and drought have driven famine and mass displacement in Madagascar, threatening millions.

By Sneha Tete, Integrated MA, Certified Relationship Coach

Created on Sep 27, 2025

Examining how climate change and drought have driven famine and mass displacement in Madagascar, threatening millions.

Madagascar’s Escalating Climate Crisis

In recent years, Madagascar has become the starkest example of how climate change can trigger a humanitarian disaster without precedent. Ongoing drought, intensified by global heating, has pushed millions into hunger, with southern regions enduring what United Nations officials describe as the world’s first climate-induced famine.

The crisis unfolds on multiple fronts:

Acute food shortages and widespread malnutrition
Mass displacement of vulnerable communities
Collapse of rain-fed agriculture, the economic backbone of rural regions
The compounding effects of cyclones, floods, and locust infestations

How Did Madagascar Get Here?

Madagascar’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is negligible, yet it stands among the nations suffering most severely from climate-induced disasters. The south of the island, known locally as the Grand Sud, has always contended with aridity, but the current crisis is extreme. From 2021 onward, the situation has sharply deteriorated, intersecting with pre-existing poverty and weak infrastructure.

The Human Cost

More than 1.3 million people now face severe hunger, with tens of thousands on the edge of famine.
Children under five are the worst affected: malnutrition rates have more than doubled since 2020, threatening both immediate survival and long-term health.
Over 90,000 people—predominantly from the Antandroy ethnic group—have been displaced since 2018 due to drought and famine, forced to migrate in search of food and water.
Projections for the near future are bleak: without intervention, fatalities could rise into the hundreds of thousands.

Facing Famine: Life in Southern Madagascar

In the hardest-hit regions, everyday life is dominated by hardship and deprivation. With fields parched by relentless drought, families are left to scavenge for survival, resorting to desperate measures:

Eating cactus fruit, wild leaves, and even locusts
Surviving on food assistance where available, often the only lifeline for entire villages
Children too weak to play or even cry, with clinics reporting unprecedented rates of severe acute malnutrition

The emotional toll is crushing. Reports from aid workers include stories of mothers losing infants to malnutrition, and children suffering irreversible physical and cognitive damage as a result of chronic hunger.

Climate Change: The Underlying Force

Madagascar’s southern drought is not solely a cyclical event—it is intensified by long-term shifts in climate patterns:

Deficits in rainfall have created water scarcity, undermining agriculture and daily survival.
Exceptionally high temperatures have accelerated evaporation and further dried out fields.
Sandstorms and locust infestations destroy crops, compounding losses already incurred by failed rains.
Cyclones and flooding, at times, follow the drought—complicating relief efforts and damaging the fragile rural economy.

Scientific studies now link these extreme patterns directly to global warming. Madagascar stands as a case study of how countries that have contributed least to global emissions are hit hardest by their consequences.

Historical Roots and Vulnerable Communities

Madagascar’s food insecurity is deeply intertwined with its history and inequalities:

The Antandroy people, an ethnic group historically residing in the south, are disproportionately affected. Their vulnerability has been traced back not only to recent climate events but also to colonial-era interventions, such as the French destruction of drought-resistant cacti in the region—plants once vital for food security during droughts.
Ongoing governmental failures to address the unique needs of climate-displaced groups have left tens of thousands without sufficient aid or protection.

Madagascar’s Food System on the Brink

Madagascar’s economy relies heavily on rain-fed, low-yield agriculture, making it particularly sensitive to climate instability. Below is a table summarizing the challenges and efforts underway:

Problem	Impact	Relief Measures
Persistent Drought	Crop failures, livestock death, food shortages	Emergency food distributions, irrigation projects
Sandstorms & locust swarms	Crops destroyed, reduced food supply	Chemical and mechanical pest control, sand dune stabilization
Lack of Water Access	Health risks, migration, school drop-out	Wells, water purification distribution, micro-irrigation
Poverty & isolation	Limited ability to recover, high vulnerability	Resilience-building programs, microinsurance payouts

Deficits Multiply

2021: 70% of the Grand Sud in drought—food production only 33% of prior five-year average.
About 1.5 million people struggle with hunger in the worst-hit areas.
Smallholder farmers, the majority of the rural population, have minimal safety nets and face catastrophic losses with each failed harvest.

Relief, Resilience, and Adaptation

Global and local efforts to address the crisis combine emergency aid with long-term adaptation strategies:

The World Food Programme (WFP) distributes emergency lifesaving food and nutritional supplements to hundreds of thousands each month.
Resilience programs, like the DEFIS+ initiative, aim to build drought-resistant agriculture through new crop practices, better water management, and access to microinsurance.
A recent $150 million program targets half a million smallholder farmers, focusing on drought-resilient farming, reforestation, and economic diversification.
Innovative approaches—such as sand dune stabilization and microinsurance payouts—offer tools for recovery after failed harvests.
However, funding shortfalls threaten to limit the scale and sustainability of these interventions, with the WFP calling for an urgent $69 million to scale up its response.

The Human Rights Dimension

The crisis has laid bare gaps in protection for the most vulnerable, particularly the Antandroy people:

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) often lack adequate food, shelter, and access to essential services.
Amnesty International and other watchdogs have called on the Malagasy government to urgently improve both its immediate and long-term strategies for addressing climate-induced migration and food insecurity.
There are growing calls for high-emitting nations and those with historical responsibility for climate change and colonial disruption to fund reparations and climate adaptation support for hard-hit countries like Madagascar.

International Responsibility and the Path Forward

With global attention on Madagascar’s struggle, there is a stark reminder of the ethical imperative for the international community to act:

Madagascar’s emissions are minuscule; its suffering is a consequence of global choices and historical injustices.
There are growing calls for greater climate financing for adaptation, humanitarian relief, and reparations—so far largely unmet by wealthy nations.
Effective support requires both sustained humanitarian funding and a long-term commitment to resilience and adaptation for vulnerable communities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Why is famine happening in Madagascar?

A: The famine is primarily driven by prolonged drought and extreme weather linked to climate change, compounded by poverty, fragile agriculture, and periodic locust plagues that have wiped out crops and livestock.

Q: Who are the main victims of Madagascar’s hunger crisis?

A: The most affected are smallholder farmers, children under five, and the Antandroy ethnic group in southern Madagascar. Many children are malnourished, and entire communities have been forced to migrate.

Q: How is the international community responding?

A: Agencies like the UN World Food Programme provide food and nutritional assistance, while other initiatives focus on building agricultural resilience. However, ongoing funding shortages and logistical challenges mean millions still face food insecurity.

Q: What are the long-term solutions to hunger in Madagascar?

A: Sustainable answers include drought-resistant farming, community resilience programs, improved infrastructure, access to microinsurance, and increased funding from the global community for adaptation and recovery.

Q: What role does climate change play?

A: Scientific evidence strongly links increased drought, unpredictable rainfall, and destructive weather events to global climate change. Madagascar, with minimal emissions, is among the worst-hit by these global shifts.

Conclusion: Hunger at the Crossroads of Climate and Injustice

The unfolding crisis in Madagascar is not only a warning of what unchecked climate change can cause, but a direct call for climate justice, global solidarity, and urgent action. Hunger on this scale demands immediate humanitarian response, but also a rethinking of how wealthier countries support adaptation and resilience in the world’s most vulnerable regions. The time to act is now—for Madagascar and for the world.

References

Author

Sneha TeteBeauty & Lifestyle Writer

Sneha is a relationships and lifestyle writer with a strong foundation in applied linguistics and certified training in relationship coaching. She brings over five years of writing experience to thebridalbox, crafting thoughtful, research-driven content that empowers readers to build healthier relationships, boost emotional well-being, and embrace holistic living.

Read full bio of Sneha Tete